MUSHROOM SALAD, AND A BURGER

I had a mushroom salad at one of my local favorite spots the other day. It was a special and it was delicious! Ever since, I have been dreaming of it, and knew that it was just a matter of time before I recreated it. The weather has been kind of miserable, not really salad weather, so I opted to make it a side and not a main course. I paired it with a grass-fed beef burger on a sprouted grain bun, which I felt was hearty enough to stand up to the pouring rain. If you'll notice, the salad really takes up most of the plate. This is the bonus to eating loads of veg, you can eat a ton of food.

Mushroom Salad
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
4 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/4 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 head of frisee, root end removed
1 small head of romaine or little gem lettuce, torn into pieces

olive oil
balsamic
parmesan

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then add mushrooms. Cook until they are golden. Season with sea salt and pepper.

While mushrooms are cooking, combine the lettuces in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss. Top with cooked mushrooms and grated parmesan cheese.

VEGGIE BURGER

I don't know what I am doing lately. I have been trying to shop mostly at the farmers markets and supplementing a few items from Whole Foods. The problem is, I am completely in a fog and have no idea what I am doing. When I get home, there's a random assortment of vegetables in my bags and a piece of chicken or something. I have been pulling recipes from my you know where. Yesterday I came up with this veggie burger with leftovers that were in the fridge. Since there was nothing in the fridge except some quinoa and black rice, this is a pretty minimal burger.


Veggie Burger
1/2 ish cup of quinoa, cooked
1/2 ish cup of black rice, cooked
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup flour (any kind-I used quinoa and rice flour)
1 or 2 eggs
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. While it's cooking, mix the quinoa and black rice in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the onion and garlic and form into patties. You may need to add a little more flour as necessary to hold it all together.

Heat a medium frying pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook patty until golden, then flip and cook the other side. When both sides are nicely browned, transfer to the oven to finish cooking.

I mixed the cooked quinoa, black rice an egg, some flour, chopped onion and chopped chives. I promise you this is all the food that I had.

Options- You could add shredded carrot, chopped spinach or any other cooked vegetable. You could use substitute any rice or grain for the quinoa and rice in this recipe.